Uddhav Thackeray gives PM Modi 20 more days to bring 'achche din'

Mumbai, Dec. 9 -- Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday denied that his party had diluted its criticism about demonetization, but conceded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be given 50 days as per his commitment. "Thirty days have gone by and we will wait out the remaining twenty days. I hope achche din (good days) arrive after this 50-day period is over. If they don't, I will let you know Shiv Sena's position after 31 December," Thackeray said.
He said his party supported the motive behind demonetization, but insisted that he was also the first to criticize the government for not managing well the impact of the move.
"We will continue to stand with people whenever and wherever they are inconvenienced. We are not opposing the government for the heck of it. I know we are part of the government, but we are also accountable to people who are suffering," Thackeray said.
Thackeray also met Union finance minister Arun Jaitley to apprise him of the "large-scale chaos and difficulties being faced by people" post-demonetization. Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Raut and Anil Desai accompanied Thackeray for the meeting.
A statement issued by the party said Thackeray raised the ban imposed by the Reserve Bank of India on district central co-operative banks on accepting old notes and exchanging old currency for new.
On Wednesday, Thackeray, who was in Delhi to attend a wedding, called on Union home minister Rajnath Singh.
Thackeray said it was unfortunate that Parliament was not transacting any business and asked the BJP leadership to heed "veteran leader" L.K. Advani's advice. "Advaniji is such a veteran leader and his advice should be taken seriously," he said in response to Advani's claim that neither the Lok Sabha speaker nor the parliamentary affairs minister was able to run proceedings.
Published by HT Syndication with permission from MINT.